Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Mommy Must Read Books!

I think one of the most important things a mommy-to-be can do is educate herself. I lost my job when I was around six months pregnant with my son. I was unable to get a job because of the wonderful economy and the fact that I would only be working for three months before the baby was due. So I was stuck at home, just me and the dog while my husband was at work. I decided that the best use of my time was to read, read read! I read everything I could get my hands on. I wanted to knowEVERYTHING about being pregnant, having a baby and being a mommy.

These books were the ones that I found the most beneficial to me. All of these may not appeal to you, but these were by far my favorite. Do not be intimidated by the big stack of books! It is not necessary to read ALL of ALL of these books to be a well educated mommy-to-be! Again there is a link attached to each of these books that will take you to more information about them! Happy reading!

What to Expect When You're Expecting- This is one of the most popular mommy-to-be books! It is like the pregnancy bible and a must have for all mommies-to-be! This has a whole websiteWhat to Expect and community that you are probably very familiar with. This book breaks down your pregnancy month by month (and even by weeks) to tell you how your baby is developing, what your body is going through and what to expect at your next prenatal visit. In addition to all of that it has answers to ANY questions/concerns you might have including but NOT limited to: worries about pre-pregnancy size, diet and exercise, different types of unusual pain, pregnancy after a miscarriage, and TONS more. It also goes through the laboring process to help you know what to expect at the actual birth as well.

The What to Expect: The First Year is set up the same way, but it talks about your baby's development. It, again breaks it up month by month telling you what developmentally is going on with your baby, what milestones should they be at and what milestones are soon to come. It also addresses concerns that you might have including immunizations and when to call the doctor. This is another must have!

Healthy Sleeping Habits, Happy Child- This is a wonderful book that explains the benefits and reasons why healthy sleeping habits are so important to babies and toddlers. It explains how much sleep in needed for babies and toddlers of any age. My son was a GREAT sleeper until he turned six months old and then we have no idea what happened! We started using the method in this book and he sleeps 12+ hours a night with two 2 hour naps a day! There is a "cry it out" method and a "no cry" method in this book for either preference.

Super Baby Food- If you read my post on All Natural Cleaners, then you are somewhat familiar with this book. This book is a wonderful mommy go-to book for pretty much anything. I wanted to make my son's baby food (because it is so much cheaper) but I was not sure what to make him and how to make it. This book was a great help. It breaks it down by months and tell you what is safe to give your baby, and what new items you should introduce him to that month. It also has how much to feed your baby and examples of schedules of when to feed (breastfed babies and formula fed babies) It also has great recipes for healthy toddler food, homemade playdough, homemade cleaners and SO MUCH MORE! It is a great resource to help moms' make sure their little one is getting enough food and that it is health.

Husband Coached Childbirth- This is the book that goes along with the Bradly Method of Natural Childbirth. It is very interesting and educational about the birthing process and what is actually happening to the mommy and baby during labor. It is written by an obstetrician that grew up on a farm watching animals give birth. It is a little "old school" in some of its ideas, but I found it very informative on the labor process. There is even a section for husbands (duh! its called the HUSBAND coached childbirth) that I practically had to read aloud to my husband just to get him to read it. The basis is the female body knows exactly what to do when in labor and giving birth, and the best person to help is the husband. It is a family affair!

Baby Signs-This is a book I picked up after reading the benefits of teaching your baby sign language to help communicate. This book shares the science behind baby sign language and tells the benefits of teaching your baby sign language. It helps you determine when to start teaching signs and how to use them so your baby understands. We were really "hard core" about teaching our son sign language, but it fell a little to the wayside and I wish we would have stuck with it. The signs he does know are very helpful in communicating with him. He knows "all done", "more" "thank you" and "what" pretty well.

I hope you enjoy some, if not all of these books! I think it is so important for women to be educated about pregnancy and childbirth to help them prepare for what labor will be like, and so that you can discuss your birth preferences with your doctor or midwife (Yes! you have options!) Happy reading and God bless you and your family!